To name a bridge is an important moment in a community. It takes a community to choose a worthy recipient, a legislative process fraught with committees and timelines, a legislative delegation working in parallel in two Chambersand a Governor’s signature! It is at once a solemn duty, a sacredtrust statement of values and a celebration.

George Washington is credited with stating and I quote, “the willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by our nation.”

In this week of Memorial Day gatherings we are priveldged to be gathered here today to demonstrate, beyond all the words of appreciation and gratitude that echoed in our communities a tangible, bold, beautiful structure in honor of our veteran, Jim Delaney, and through this action, an honor for all veterans in our Commonwealth and Country.

A bridge is a structure that is built to span obstacles for the purpose of providing safe passage. Jim’s service from Macinaw Island, to Iwo Jima to Korea certainly spanned obstacles but the safe passage through his courage and actions were clearly not for himself given his Purple Hearts, but for his comrades and his Country.

And now, hundreds and thousands of people will pass the James Delaney II bridge everyday and know that our community and Commonwealth honors the service of our veterans. For those of us living in Needham, as you travel over this bridge, be thoughtful of Jim and all the veterans whose service made it possible for you to have safe passage to your safe home.

You are cordially invited to join Governor Charlie Baker, MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver and the Lt. Manson H. Carter V.F.W. Post #2498 at the designation of the Kendrick Street Bridge on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 at 3:30 p.m. The event will be held on the roof of the PTC Parking Garage located at 140 Kendrick Street, Needham, MA. Parking will be available onsite.

The bridge will be dedicated to James J. Delaney, II, Sergeant USMC (Retired), a longtime Needham resident who participated in the Battles of Iwo Jima, where he received his first purple heart, and Okinowa. He was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation Navy Commendation Medal and two Asiatic Combat Stars. Later he was wounded in combat in Korea and awarded his second Purple Heart.

All are invited for a collation at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2498 on Junction Street immediately following the ceremony.

COMMITTEE BILL SIGNALS POSSIBLE DIRECTION FOR HOUSE ON OPIOIDS

By Andy Metzger
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

STATE HOUSE, BOSTON, MAY 3, 2018…..In its latest effort to stem the deadly opioid epidemic, a House-controlled committee took a step Thursday towards establishing mandatory three-day substance use therapy for those in peril and requiring hospitals to stock buprenorphine or other medication used as an alternative to street drugs like heroin and fentanyl.

The Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery voted to advance a redraft of Gov. Charlie Baker’s bill (H 4033) for addressing the opioid crisis. Both the committee bill and Baker’s bill require a switch to electronic prescriptions. Senators on the committee suggested they would opt for a different course, electing to reserve their rights rather than voting for or against the bill that cleared committee on a voice vote.

About 4,000 people have died from suspected or confirmed opioid overdoses in Massachusetts the last two years. In recent years lawmakers have sought to increase access to substance use programming, restrict access to prescription narcotics and enhance penalties for trafficking fentanyl.

“While there is much work left to be done to address this public health crisis, last year Massachusetts saw the first decrease in opioid-related deaths in several years and the governor appreciates the Legislature’s efforts to advance the CARE Act and bring it one step closer to becoming law,” said Brendan Moss, a spokesman for the governor.

The committee’s bill would expand access to overdose-reversing Narcan, allowing it to be available by standing order at pharmacies, and it would require hospitals to be equipped to administer opioid agonist treatment like buprenorphine.

When someone is treated for an overdose, they are at a “very high risk for recurrence,” and buprenorphine cuts mortality rates in half, according to Dr. Michael Bierer, president of the Massachusetts Society of Addiction Medicine.

The medicine treats the addiction that causes people to seek out dangerous drugs, and buprenorphine attaches to chemical receptors in the body, making opioids like fentanyl less powerful and less deadly, Bierer told the News Service.

“It’s very hard to overdose on that drug,” said Bierer, who said the society “strongly” supports requiring hospitals to be equipped to administer that type of medically assisted therapy. He said, “We understand how efficacious opioid agonist treatment is.”

The bill would create a commission to study the use of methadone and other opioid-addiction medicine in correctional facilities. The addiction medicine society would have preferred language requiring that inmates have access to that kind of treatment, Bierer said.

The society has been skeptical about the policy backed by the governor and included in different form in the committee’s bill enabling medical professionals to involuntarily hold those whose substance use or drinking disorder is likely to cause “serious harm.”

“We don’t want anything that is devoid of a judge being involved in decisions to restrict liberty for substance use disorders other than extreme cases,” Bierer said.

Under the bill, when someone is admitted to a treatment facility involuntarily, the facility would be required to inform the person of their right to legal representation through the Committee for Public Counsel Services.

Rep. Denise Garlick, a Needham Democrat, and the House chairwoman of the Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery, said the legislation takes a three-pronged approach to the scourge.

“The bill employs three major strategies,” Garlick said ahead of Thursday’s vote. “First it strengthens public health prevention measures in our schools and communities for children and young adults from birth to age 26. Second, it increases treatment capacity by including access and quality in an expanded behavioral health care system. And third, it provides for the treatment of people who suffer the most from substance-use disorders by offering them options for care and support.”

The Dover Council on Aging is looking to the future to strengthen its ties with the entire Dover Community through programs, services, and advocacy. The purpose of this project is to survey key constituents of the Dover community to better understand the needs and interests of Dover’s seniors as well as perceptions of Dover’s seniors held by various constituents.

As part of this effort, a Dover Community Survey has been developed that is accessible on line by all of Dover’s residents. You will find the link to this survey at www.surveymonkey.com/r/DOVERCOA or you may find a copy of this survey at the Dover Library or the Council on Aging office in the Caryl Community Center. This survey will only take 5 minutes to complete.

The Council on Aging hopes that all Dover residents will participate as it looks to the future to strengthen its ties with the entire Dover Community through programs, services and advocacy.